Goddard House Project Reduced in Size Due to Construction Costs

The proposed redevelopment of the Goddard House on South Huntington Avenue.

The Boston Planning & Development Agency board has approved proposed changes to the Goddard House project on South Huntington Avenue, which will be reduced in size due to financial constraints, according to the developer.

The proposed redevelopment of the Goddard House on South Huntington Avenue.

The project had been approved by the BPDA for 165,000 sq. ft., while the new plan shrinks the size to 150,000 sq. ft. The number of units also decreased from 167 to 149.

Located at 201-221 South Huntington Ave., the project includes a rehabilitation, expansion and conversion to residential units of a former nursing home and rehabilitation center. A new freestanding multi-family residential building on a surface parking lot is also to be built.

"In order to overcome significant financial challenges posed by the current construction market, [Eden Properties LLC] proposes a few adjustments to the new building portion...," said a memo submitted to the BPDA by developer Eden Properties. "The main priority of the project continues to be the adaptive re-use of the Goddard House building, and that portion of the project remains unchanged."

The developer said it focused on reducing the number of units in the new building because the "complex structural support system necessary to adaptively re-use the Goddard House building makes it difficult to make any changes that would improve the financial feasibility of the program."

The units are split between two buildings. The original Goddard House, built in the 1920s and being redeveloped, will have 110 units -- and that number hasn't changed with the new plan. A new building went from a proposed 57 units to 39 units. The number of parking spaces for the entire proposal also dropped, from 83 to 65.

Another approved change included setting the project back approximately 70 to 110 feet farther from the Jamaicaway. The previous plan called for a setback of 45 feet.

There will be 19 on-site affordable housing units, which will be designated for households earning no more than 70 percent of the area median income as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The developer has also agreed to make a contribution of $86,957 as a partial unit payment to the Inclusionary Development Policy Special Revenue Fund managed by Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development. This payment will be made at the time the building permit is issued.

According to a BPDA memo, Eden Properties will also contribute $50,000 to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, $50,000 to Boston's Park Department for improvements to Daisy Field in Olmsted Park, and $10,000 to Boston to complete additional survey work to "help further the design of South Huntington Avenue and Heath Street intersection re-design."

The BPDA board approved the changes to the project March 16. The next step for the project is go to the Zoning Board of Appeals for several zoning variances.

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